Pharaonic Heredity
by Puzzle Power
Summary: Years after it all began, Yugi must confront the drifting of his friends, the rivalry with his other self, and the disdainful heir to the legacy of Egypt. Pharaohs clash in a conflict on what consists of Living and Dead. CH3 Up! RR
1. Chapter 1

**Pharaonic Heredity**

**CH1 Abidos**

"You can't, it won't possibly work that way. . ."

His eyes were clouded with the curtains of blonde that had strewn into his face, but the youthful figure that had been recognized as the "King Of Games" for quite some time now already realized that where ever he had managed himself to be was a beyond the grace of the sun. Yugi Motoh wasn't quite sure of the time of day for that matter, whether or not night and fallen or dawn had come to pass. His muscles sore and weighted, the boy managed his best to try to become as aware as best as possible.

The first notable disposition was the placement of his body. Yugi could feel feel cold concrete beneath him, smooth and apathetic to his situation. There was so much to keep him distracted in the darkness. From the ringing in his ears to the sting of low temperature in the air, Yugi tried his best to let his eyes focus as he propped himself upright with his pained arms. There was a feeling of abstained effort, and against the wall with eyes ready to percieve the void, the young man was finally able to realize what was wrong. The chill of the metal usually around his neck was gone. There was no pressure against his chest. As such weight always had been against him for three long years, this was strange for Yugi to feel at ease.

"He took it." Yugi spoke alone into the void, as if someone would answer. These actions usually weren't unfounded, he hadn't been the sole audience to his thoughts for quite some time. Everything seemed in place in his appearance for the most part. The sleek leggings, the vinyl clothing, the leather accessories; all symbols of his style were in tact. But his body was bruised, and the sacred treasure was missing. The feeling of sanctity in solitude was absent as well, Yugi truly was alone for once. The spirit of the Millenium Puzzle, as well as the possessed relic itself, had been stolen from him.

The aches and pains clouded his train of thought, but Yugi put together what had occurred. The face of the man had been darkened by the sun, bronze that reminded him of the desert sands of his cohort's descent. He must have been no older than any of Yugi's friends, but he had a stern look of maturity to him. Adjusting himself to try to find a comfortable position that would free him of the throbbing bruises, Yugi tried to piece together what the assailant had said.

_"You can't keep this from me! I am of the rightful heirship to this bloodline, you conceited trash!_"

Flashing images of fisticuffs and fury passed through his mind, replaying the scenes before his eyes as if they were happening again. There had been no time to make the switch, no time to allow the second self he was so accustomed to take over his body and find a just solution to someone else's qualms with the boy. There were no friends to come to his dramatic rescue, and there was no grandfather of whom he looked up to so dearly to explain the recourse of actions he may have committed in a previous life. This attack had begun when he was alone, and it had rendered him in the same solitary state.

There was slight rocking of objects in the void. Yugi let out a sigh, and realized in the dim light that flooded the room from a barred window in the far corner of the room that he was in some kind of storage facility. The dancing figures in the distance must have been the preserved carcasses of dead animals hung to keep them preserved in the cold, this was a meat storage locker. The air didn't seem thin or depleting, so he was not meant to suffocate in this coffin. Yugi hadn't fully adjusted to the darkness, so he could not yet see an entrance of exit to the confines of the facility. He also wasn't ready to rise to his feet, the attack that memories were beginning to reduplicate more steadily in his mind had left his body battered and weak.

"Who are you?" Bewildered that the door which had just so recently been locked was now flung open, Yugi could only question the identity of the silhouette standing in the doorway. Working the game shop his grandfather had established left him in a daze of redundance, and this new appearance took him off guard. He had just secured the store for its closing that evening, now someone had broken in.

"My name is Abidos." The figure was coming into view more clearly as it left the dusk air and stepped into the light of the shop. He was young, he couldn't have been that much older than Yugi himself. He also seemed to be of foreign descent, possessing dark skin and a more narrow face than any person from around the town of Domino or any surrounding Eastern areas. There was a sharply familiar tone in his accent, his Japanese wasn't quite native either. After the visual intake had set into Yugi's mind, neural pathways seem to line up to spark a new train of thought. He recognized the name "Abidos". It was recent and familiar, fresh in his mind and pertaining to the text books he had recently purchased to delve into study of the world of his partner.

"Abidos was the name given to one of the more memorable Pharaohs of Egypt." Yugi halted his words, he didn't want to continue with such contrived speech. He had just repeated what he had read, and had nothing to follow his response to the dark figure that had spontaneously arrived. He was dressed modernly for someone with such an archaic name, olive fabrics comprising the business attire seemed to mask any mystique that might have been had.

"Abidos is the name of my ancestor, yes. I'm not the same one, obviously." The foreigner slowly began his march towards Yugi, a hand extended forth and a grimacing scowl on his face. Yugi only could hesitate and move away from the visitor with instinctual caution. He had been visited many times before by people who always seemed to want something from him.

"I don't try to cheat death to avoid losing my power." These emitted words had left Yugi worried, he panicked clutching at the ornament on his chest. It was apparent to him from experience what was about to occur. This young man had come to seize Yugi's Millenium Puzzle, fully aware of the spirit trapped within and its former title as the Pharaoh of Egypt. Turning to run away, Yugi felt a hand at the collar of the school uniform jacket he had been so accustomed to that it was a part of him. With no second thought, he shrugged himself free of the coat to try to make an escape, leaving himself in the mess of gothic apparel that he had adorn over recent years.

"You can't keep this from me! I am of the rightful heirship to this bloodline, you conceited trash!"

These were the final words Yugi could hear, the rest were blurred out of coherence from the sharp ringing Yugi heard. Something had collided with the back of his head, and he was fading from conciousness. He reached out spiritually, hoping for the grace of gods or kings. Nothing seem to come, and he whispered quietly to himself as the world turned black.

"You can't, it won't possibly work that way. . ."


	2. Chapter 2

**Pharaonic Heredity**

**CH2: The Day In Total**

That seemed to explain what had occurred to Yugi, and with his new awareness he tried to see what possessions he still did have on him. Reaching through the tight pockets of his pants, adjusting his various belts to get into them, he noticed the indention that was now void that at one point represented where he had kept a cellular phone. His coat obviously removed, there was no consolation of warmth available detached from it. The only thing that seemed relatively unscathed was the leather box pinned to the waist of his pants, containing various memories that he knew as his deck of Duel Monsters cards.

Still lacking the strength to rise to his feet, Yugi opened the box of cards at his waist with one hand. Not ready to recieve the contents, the deck spilled forth and his entire story was strewn onto the floor. It was too dark to read any of the cards, but he could still see the images well and recognize if anything had been taken in addition to his more important belongings. It seemed as if there were fourty cards, and he set out to counting them.

"There's Pot Of Greed, there's Graceful Charity. . . I think that's the Magician Of Faith."

Magician Of Faith; this had been Anzu's favorite card. Years ago when the collective of friends had first began to become aquainted with one another, they had all sat down before a campfire on the isolated island that became the battlefield for Yugi's first acts of destiny. Here, everyone professed their dreams, tastes, and aspirations.

"Anzu. . ."

"Why are you getting all dressed up? We're just going to that place up the block."

Lately, the man that Yugi had always looked up to since he'd first been really taken in as an apprentice gamer had been showing his age. Yugi was now being paid to relate and mind the needs of the various customers to the established business. While not the most illustrious place of dealings, there was a strong following that must have been responsive to the good service and insight of Sugoroku Motoh over the years.

With Yugi's first accrual of wages from the previous in hand, he had arrived at the living space of his dear friend Anzu Mizaki in midday during his break. Everyone he knew was really beginning to show their independence as of late. Jounouchi had moved back in with the mother and sister he'd been disenfranchised from since the terrible divorce in his early childhood. Honda was already into his second year at the local university trying to make something of himself as a provider. Here he was at the apartment of Anzu, who had finally decided to settle in to her native Japan instead of leaving for America with her previous intent. She was still studying dance, but her plans were to leave her here. For that, Yugi was glad.

"What? I can't look good for a friend?" Yugi watched Anzu bustle in and out of her room for the fifth time, and just like the last four instances there was something altered about her appearance. This time her hair was a little more vibrant than before, some kind of spray shine that must have just been applied. The scent of products tinted the quality of the air, and Yugi just rocked back and forth on the stool he had settled into since he arrived. The apartment was small, and the kitchen had a good view of the hall where the sole mirror was that Anzu was using as a point of reference.

"I know, I know. But it's just that cafe, we used to go there all the time with the gang." Yugi smiled at the thought of Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu, and himself all in one place. With everyone busy as they had been, there was little time for the group to get together like it used to. Yugi was probably the least occupied of the four. He hadn't started into any kind of higher academics yet since he graduated. Short in stature as he may have been, he was still part of the same graduating class rank as his friends. He'd spent the past year just spending time in the company of his grandfather, the man who had raised him when his parents had their falling out.

"That place is becoming a real hot spot, y'know. It's not the same quiet place we discovered back then." Anzu's voice called out from the room again, muffled from the distortion of distance. Yugi did realize that Domino City was becoming an expanding metropolis that rivaled the other neighboring cities. There was no reason for him to take the train anymore to anywhere outside of the town he grew up in, as everyone accomodation could now be found within.

"There, I'm done." With these words, it was veritably a short time that Anzu appeared before Yugi again. Her attire wasn't too much different, Yugi seemed to notice that her purse was different than before. Other than that, he had seen the particular outfit before on her. The yellow sleeveless number marked with the name of some American band that he couldn't quite pronounce, and the leather skirt that hadn't seem to lose its shine since she first wore it. She had worn this same outfit years ago, but he hadn't seen it in a long time. Perhaps that was why she was fondling through her belongings for so long.

Filing down the steps of the complex, Yugi kept the lead as he could hear Anzu's steps behind him. He had just wanted to treat her out to something and catch up on old times, but she had made a scene trying to find the right things to wear. He couldn't quite piece together what she was fashioning herself to parade around for. Lacking focus on his own steps, he lost his footing against loose cracks in the sidewalk. A great weight against his chest, the Millenium Puzzle pushed into him with a small amount of inertia. It was with this force, that he realized what was going on.

"It's for him, isn't it?" With these words, Yugi clasped the chain that strung the monstrosity of gold around his neck. He raised it slightly to present the artifact as a solid form to his accusation. Anzu hesitated, still standing a few feet behind in the path, her eyes matched on his. She looked guilty, but regretful, chewing on her lower lip and eventually trying to keep from looking directly at him as she had been.

"I'm the one who asked you to come out. It was me, not him!" Yugi's voice was waivering with strain. He felt decieved, standing here in the noon sunlight. He had walked all these blocks to get lunch with his dear friend to interupt the lull of the day between now and when he would close the shop. And here she was, accepting his request only that "He" might come out; the other half of Yugi known only as the "King Of Games" or "Pharaoh" who had been silent this whole encounter. Tears beginning to form from startled indignation, Yugi began to run. He didn't know where he was headed, but he didn't want to see those regretful eyes.

"Yugi, wait! I didn't mean to. . ."

Yugi turned the Magician Of Faith card face down and pushed it aside in the pile of cards that he had already mulled over, continuing to count.

"Swift Gaia the Fierce Knight, Card Of Sanctity, D.D. Warrior Lady."

Warriors had always been the card set-up that Jounouchi had used. This particular card was even formerly the property of his pupil and dear friend. He had only just acquired it today from his earlier encounter at the Jounouchi residence. Yugi smiled, he stilled hadn't been able to call his friend anything other than his "street name". The family name was "Jounouchi", but his friend was "Katsuya".

Yugi could feel the dried salt on his face, but attempts to wipe it clean with his hands failed. He could feel his dark eyeliner clumping together from the moisture, and he was sure that he looked like a mess. It had been a good half an hour that he had walked in this direction, any hope of returning to the shop to reopen past his self-declared lunch break would have to involve the train service. He was however in the area of the Jounouchi residence, and it was in the relative vicinity of such that he decided to pay another dear friend a visit. Surely "Jou' " would not be looking for the older avatar of the young boy, he would smile simply from seeing Yugi's face and hearing his innocence.

It wasn't long before Yugi had arrived at the gated residential community that the Jounouchi family now occupied since their reconciliation. Ignoring the lack of a father figure, Jou' had managed to return to a normal family life in recent years. Yugi was comfortable that he remembered which button he should push to call attention to the intercom unit to his friend's housing, and doing such caused a tone to sound off. He waited patiently for a responding voice.

"Yes, who is it?" The voice he did recieve calling from was quiet and shy, feminine as well. It must have been household's young lady, Shizuka, who Yugi had only come to know some time after his first encounters with Jou'. This sister had always seemed kind, and knowing this person to be a motivating force for Jou' had always made Yugi feel comfortable interacting with Shizuka.

"Oh, it's Yugi. I wanted to know if Jou' was around?" Yugi tried to speak as well as he could into the microphone slot of the speaker unit attached to the gate. There was no response to his words, but the gate creaked its way open on automatic hinges. A few homes down into the heart of the community, Yugi could see a door open and the young brunette figure wave him over. He nodded, and made his approach until he was well into the suburban household of the Jounouchi family.

"So is he around?" As Yugi repeated his query, Shizuka seemed to shy away closing the door behind the colorful youth. Yugi always wondered if the way people reacted to him had to do with his individuality in appearance, but this was just how he felt presentable.

"Katsuya went to go see his father." Shizuka stifled these words out as she pulled up a chair for Yugi at the coffee table in the center of the dining room. This room was easily able to be accessed from the vestibule of the house, and the entire layout of the home seemed very Western for a Japanese family. It was a large house, probably as large as the game shop but lacking the place of business that had been the default set up for the lower floor of his own home for quite some time. Yugi took a seat, and turned his attention to hear out more from Shizuka about this awkward event.

"You know that Katsuya and his father haven't exactly been on good terms since we all got back together under this one roof, right?" Shizuka seemed to be loosening up, the long hair that was framing her face had been pushed back so that she was more visible when speaking to Yugi. He tried to remember when Jou' had actually moved out from his home with his father. It must have been three years ago, just after the incidents on the island known as "Duelist Kingdom" where his friends had really began to become close. It was by that campfire that Jou' had spoken about trying to win the prize for the tournament being held on the island in hopes of restoring his sisters eyesight. Yugi remembered that motivation in Jou's eyes, the spirit of fire that was apparent with the words of his friend. Donating the profits of his own victory at Duelist Kingdom, Yugi was responsible for the reconsiliation of this family, but also the alienation of the lead male of the separated household.

"Well, my brother went to go patch things up with our old man. . ." So that was the reason for his friend not being as close as initially thought. The man that had borne this young girl and her brother into the world lived in another town, and that meant that Jou' was far from walking distance. Yugi rose to his feet, nodding his head in thanks for the information. As he went for the door, he felt his arm pulled at with a feigned force.

"Here, he said that if I saw you I should give you this. He said he just got a new one, and that you should have this one 'filled with memories of battle'." Shizuka pressed something into Yugi's hand, clasping it with his fingers he began to examine the new find. It was a Duel Monsters card, a warrior card that Jou' had relied on for quite some time. The gift was valuable, and Yugi bowed in thanks to Shizuka for carrying out her brother's request. He took out to the door, and made his way back towards the train station he knew to be nearest his current position so that he could return to the work his grandfather had been paying him for.

Still smiling, Yugi set down the D.D. Warrior Lady card with the others. It was unfortunate that he wasn't able to actually see Jou' before he had left for the day, or give him counsel to his current situation, but he was happy to have Jou' in spirit.

"Breaker the Magical Warrior, Winged Kuriboh, Silent Swordsman. . ."

Silent Swordsman was relatively a new aquisition, this card possessed multiple printings with different forms that linked up to each other. It symbolized growth and dependability to Yugi. With the three printed stages of the cards in his grip, he couldn't help but think of Honda.

"Looks like this place is in okay shape." Yugi closed the door behind him, switching the "Closed" sign in the window to a more inviting "Open". Perched behind the counter on the high rung stool, he could lean against the glass without trying to amplify his height by forcing himself more forward than natural. It was the middle of the week, so business was going to be slow regardless of his readiness to do business. The business line of the shop was situated into a phone mounted on the counter within his reach, and the inviting presence of a stable voice called Yugi's arm out to the reciever. Dialing in familiar numbers, Yugi tried to see if he could reach anyone he knew.

"Hey, you've reached Honda! If you need someone killed, press one! If you're a foxy lady looking for a good time with a real man, press two! Haha!" Yugi couldn't help but smile at the recording, even after the tone signaled for him to speak. No words came out, he just smiled at the comfort of hearing his friend's voice. Realizing he'd waited too long and the sound of disconnection already had fired off, Yugi put the reciever back into its set. Perhaps this would just be an uneventful day, and Yugi considered flipping through the text books he'd purchased on ancient Egypt to keep himself from slipping completely into boredom.

"Dark Magician Of Chaos, Black Luster Soldier, Magic Cylinder, Mirror Force. . . Alright, it's all here."

It seemed like he had been in the dark room for hours, but his shivering had stopped as he'd become less succeptible to the cold. Perhaps not focusing on the harsh climate made him unaffected by its wrath. He would watch the moon move across the night sky quietly hoping that the awkward predicament he was in would come to an end.

After some time, the door that he hadn't even realized to be there seemed to click and clatter. The sounds seem to signify as if chains were being relieved of their duties, and locks were being opened so that someone might pass through. The familiar figure appeared again, but it did not sport the same business dress as before. Silken white robes and gold trims beguiled this dark figure, and the contrast was actually somewhat majestic. It reminded him very much so of the apparel that his other half had dawned in his time, memories of the two had begun to intermingle from their extended contact. Other than the immaculate dressing, the other noticable thing was that which Abidos had in tow. The chain of the Millenium Puzzle trailing down to the floor, and the very item itself scraping against the ground.

"It doesn't work, why doesn't it work?" Abidos careless slid the ornament across the ground. Yugi staggered to his feet and hobbled over with his limping legs to pick up the chain and pull it over his neck. The weight of the Millenium Puzzle was a bit much to bear in his condition, but it was a comfortable feeling against his chest. He just faded quietly from conciousness as his body seemed to take over. His hair fell into his face, and his eyes closed. He felt safe again.

Different than before, the spirit that seemed to have taken over Yugi's body slipped the hair out of his eyes and pushed the stiffened blonde locks back into the messy sea of ebony and crimson. There was a smile on his lips, something of confidence that didn't match the visage of youth from earlier. He even did so much as to laugh out in the cold and echoing air. Yugi was no longer himself, Yugi was the "King Of Games".

"It does work because you didn't meet the clarifications of the clause I set in so many years ago." The lengthy figure kneeled to his feet to collect all of the cards that had been strewn onto the floor. After this task, he placed them back into the leather container aside his belts. Snapping the case closed, he used his now free arms to gesture and stroke the Millenium Puzzle as he talked. This was the center of his monologue, so keeping a hand on the only recently returned item was important.

"Many years ago, this item became a very hot topic. To prevent the use of it in the case of theft, a seal was placed on it by myself and the priests who served under me. To attain the rightful magic of the Millenium Puzzle, you need to defeat the Pharaoh who uses its power to transcend time while he is at his best."

"But that's so vague! It's unfair!" Abidos seemed ready to strike out at the visage of the Pharaoh before him. Eyes locked, the two young men stared each other down. One was completely in lack of control of the situation, the King Of Games still bewildered at his own determination to stand upright. The other could do nothing with control of the situation, Abidos was unaware of what could be done to appease the specifications placed on the curse of the Millenium Puzzle.

"If you truly want to take this from me, meet me tomorrow morning back where you first struck. And play my game, the ancient replica of shadows and chance that exists in the modern game of Duel Monsters. And please, dress a little more modestly. You aren't Pharaoh, yet."


	3. Chapter 3

**Pharaonic Heredity**

**CH3: Reconciliation**

Yugi stammered into his homestead, collecting his jacket from the shop as he moved towards the actual residing area of the building. The spirit of the Millenium Puzzle had walked his frail form home, but he wasn't going to be able to carry on much longer without its help. Up the stairs, already too late to worry about running into his grandfather, Yugi climbed into the familiar and warm surroundings of his room. Reaching into his coat pocket, he remedied the mental state where he thought his phone had been robbed from him. He had simply left it inside the confines of his school uniform jacket which was lost earlier in the struggle with Abidos.

Fumbling with the keys in his almost drunken state, he pressed the receiver to his ear beneath the feathered locks of scarlet.

_You have 3 new messages._

_Message 1: "Hey Yugi, it's Anzu. Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I just hadn't seen you - either of you - in a while and I wasn't sure what to do. Let me make it up to you some time. I'm really sorry."_

Yugi was surprised at the feeling of reconciliation from the words. Perhaps on another level he recognized that he was an awkward child with a unique situation. Not everyone possessed multiple personalities that weren't just an expression of mental distress, but personalities displayed that were of genuine existance. Feeling a lack of strength to move, he just let the messages play on.

_Message 2: _"_Yug'! It's Jounouchi! I just got back from up North, I heard you stopped by. Have you used my awesome card, yet? Man, I remember when we first got stuff from that set -- Anyhow, I'll talk to ya' later, let's go do something!"_

The smile never really left Yugi's face, but the strength to stay concious did seem to be depleting over time. His eyelids slipped shut, Yugi did his best to listen to the final recording that his device would offer him.

_Message 3: _"_Hey Yugi, it's Honda. Did you call recently? My caller registry says you did, but I didn't get a message from you. It's not like you, bro'. Why don't you call me back about it?_"

Feeling younger again, reminded of the events of better days in the past, Yugi fell fast asleep.


End file.
